


Four is a Crowd

by BeeinaHailstorm



Series: Four is a Family [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, I love cliffhangers, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Piglin Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Platonic Soulmates, Winged TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), because thats one of my favorite headcanons, how to tag help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29528487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeeinaHailstorm/pseuds/BeeinaHailstorm
Summary: "Most people were overjoyed at the thought of having two soulmates. Normally you got one soulmate, and though to many this was enough, it was easy to see why having two would be exciting.Tommy had three soulmates."Tommy's life might be like one disaster to the next. He might be barely holding on. But at least he has his dreams.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Toby Smith| Tubbo & Tommyinnit, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Series: Four is a Family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2207526
Comments: 154
Kudos: 944





	1. One can be Lonely

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited to share with you guys my first fic! I personally love the platonic soulmates idea, and I was so sad to see that there is so little of it in this fandom. So I wrote my own, hope you enjoy!
> 
> This is beta read by RaindomTM, so please, give her some love!

Most people were overjoyed at the thought of having two soulmates. Normally you got one soulmate, and though to many this was enough, it was easy to see why having two would be exciting. 

Tommy had three soulmates. He forgot a lot of details about them outside of his dreams. He remembered talents he learned from them and their personalities, but things like faces or nicknames were forgotten when he awoke; only to be remembered again when he went back to sleep. They couldn’t tell their names or cities so he didn’t know where exactly they lived. However they were pretty secretive in general, so he doubted he would know much even if they could tell him. He did know they lived in the same empire, so meeting them was possible. Even if he would never get to meet them, he enjoyed seeing them in the dream world.

His first soulmate, Green as he called him in the waking world, had a soulmark that occupied his right arm. The tattoo was in the shape of wings. He couldn't remember much from the dreams with his soulmates, but he did know the man was older and kind. Sometimes he could faintly remember a small house Green had built in their dreams, a place where they could all relax. Green tended to be busier these days, so Tommy didn't see him as much in his dreams. 

Red's mark was placed below Green's and took the shape of a crown. He remembered when kids had bullied him, Red taught him to fight. He used a sword like it was merely another part of his arm. Though Tommy would never say it to Red's face, he was always impressed with his swordsmanship.

That isn't to say there wasn't more to Red then protection. Red had a good sense of humor and was calming to be around. But most importantly, Red loved farms and food. Tommy had woken up from so many dreams feeling like he had just finished eating the best meal of his life. 

Yellow was a bit of a wild card. He was the only soulmate he got reminded daily of, since he always seemed to be humming some sort of song. Sometimes he wrote his own and played them in the dream space. Tommy really only remembered one song, Cat, and after years of hearing Yellow play it, Tommy had written it down and turned it into a music disc. He played it often when he slept.

Yellow was a performer through and through; even the most simplistic tasks were done with flair and dramatics. You think you would get tired of it, but no, it was one of the things Tommy loved most about his dreams. Yellow didn’t do a lot of physical work in the dreams, but they wouldn’t be the same without him.

That wasn't to say this whole soulmate business was peaches and cream. All his soulmates knew each other and were older than him. Tommy stook out like a sore thumb in their little family. Sometimes he wondered if they even wanted to meet him. On occasion, he would be the only one in the dreamscape for days before they would magically reappear with stories of their real lives.

He hadn't told Green yet the fact that his parents died and that he lived with his aunt and uncle. He hadn't told Red that some of the fighting lessons for his "school bullies" were for his guardians. And he didn't tell Yellow that his random songs often helped him calm down when his body was trying to convince him he was dying. 

If they did know who was to say they would want to stay his soulmate?

So he kept quiet and enjoyed their company. The house, however, was particularly loud today. It was one of the rare days when they were together in the house. Piglet, Red’s nickname much to his annoyance, was cooking some sort of cake, so they were all piled in the kitchen trying to distract him. Chicken, or Green (they called him Dadza but Tommy still couldn't tell if it was an inside joke or an actual title) , was the only one trying to help Piglet. He was mixing flour in a bowl trying not to smile at their antics.

“Piglet, how come it always takes you forever to make these cakes,” Tune, or Yellow, whined. He was sitting next to Tommy at the counter top, “We aren’t even in the real world! Why don’t you just speed up time on the oven?”

Piglet poured melted butter into a bowl and stirred. He was long used to Tune’s antics, “It doesn’t taste as good when it's rushed. Besides you could always cook something for yourself W̵͔̞̍ĭ̴͈̆l̷̡̉͘b̸̙̔͛ủ̸̗̻ŗ̴͔͝͝ ,”he must have used Tune’s real name because it turned into a grumbled mess, “I mean Tune. I still think your nickname is extremely stupid.”

“Says the man named Piglet,” Tommy said snarkily as he swung his legs under the counter. 

Piglet frowned, “I didn’t name myself, so I have an excuse. If anything you are to blame for that Child.”

Tune crackled at the remark. Tommy rolled his eyes with a huff, “I’m still not a fucking child. If anything my nickname is unoriginal.”

Tune turned to him with a shit eating grin, “But you must agree that it’s true. You’re practically a fetus compared to us.”

Tommy swatted at him, but that only made his laughter louder, “The only one who can make that comment is Mother Hen. He’s old as dirt.”

Chicken rolled his eyes, “I’m not that old. You kids are just young.”

Tune raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, no.”

The air was so calming. The house was almost always at dusk, so a soft orange glow filled the whole home. That and the dark brown walls contrasted with the soft yellow wallpaper always made the home feel cosy. Even on the days when no one was asleep but him, Tommy couldn’t help but relax here. Everything down to the kitchen counters' slight coldness grounded him. Dadza and Piglet did good building this place.

When he came to, he saw Chicken worriedly looking at him, “You alright Theseus? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“Of course big man. Just enjoying the… walls.”

“Phew,” Piglet said mockingly, wiping his brow, “You being quiet is never a good sign. I didn’t even know you could shut up.”

Tune again started to laugh. Tommy tried to fight the smile climbing onto his face as he thought of a comeback. Before he could retort, however, he felt himself softly fade, “Looks like it's time to get back on the grind. Don’t eat all the cake Tune.”

Tune gave him a grin before starting a group hug, “No promises Child.”

Everyone held on to Tommy, and for 3 whole seconds, as he squaked indignantly, he thought waking up wouldn’t be as bad.

Of course, he was wrong.


	2. Two can get Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: child abuse, violence, and a mild mentioning of vomit .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO!! It is I, again, with a new chapter. This took forever to write and edit, so I really hope you guys like it! It's much, much bigger then chapter one so I can't really wait to hear you guy's thoughts!
> 
> Also I want to see some "Thank you Rain"s in comments, because she single handedly stopped me from dropping this fic. She also beta read/edited this story, so much thanks to her!

Sometimes, on days like these, Tommy would think about who he was. It seemed like a simple question, he was Tommyinnit, the greatest man alive. But the more he thought about it the more unsure he became.There almost seemed to be two Tommys that existed in this world. One in his dreams and the other in the waking world.

His dream self was brash and bold, a vivid red, that garnered your attention, whilst never being afraid to speak his mind 

His waking self was a quiet and a bitter grey. Doing as he was told and staying silent.

His dream self was funny. A harsh, playful type of humor, but just enough that even his victim would stifle a laugh.

His waking self had the type of humor that dragged himself down. He hated being self-deprecating, but it had saved his life on multiple occasions. 

His dream self always felt safe. He never thought too much about his surroundings.

His waking self was always in a game of chess. Everyone did something for a reason, even an act of kindness had a darker undertone. 

His dream self never took no for an answer.

His waking self was used to no.

His dream self had parents.

His waking self did not.

But the biggest difference to Tommy was his wings. Tommy’s wings were nowhere to be found in the dream world. Sometimes he wished they were there, but then he would wake up and see his crooked, dusty, and painful wings and then he would forget his regrets. They had only looked good once in his whole life; the day after they had sprouted from his back, in full bloody glory, and his aunt had cleaned them. He had fully stretched them out and marveled at the beautiful red feathers.

After that, however, his aunt had told him that taking care of his wings would be too much work and money. So slowly they had declined in health. He tried to wash them every once in a while but regular soap and water left them feeling like sandpaper. He didn’t know how to properly stretch them either. One slight twitch from them and his back would flare in pain. He had considered asking Green for help, it’s not like the talent would be forgotten when he awoke, but he thought against it. There was just too much he would have to tell the man to get good help. He didn’t know how much Green knew about his real life, but the fact his dream-self hadn’t asked made him come to the collusion that he didn’t know much.

He shook his head, dispelling the thoughts. If his uncle found him slacking like this he would be in big trouble. He hopped to his feet and got to work. Taking the stone axe, skullcrusher as it was named, it was one of his few gifts from his guardians, he started chopping down the spruce trees around the farmhouse. The action left his arms aching after hours, but any type of exercise was good for him. He had a new hobby he wanted to try out and he would need the muscle.

After chopping down all the tree’s, he chopped some up into smaller pieces and hauled them over to the farmhouse. He saw his aunt in the yard watering some of the flowers, so he put on a polite smile and looked down. Tommy’s aunt had liked him when he was younger, but as he got older, she started to take every little thing he did as a threat. It didn’t help that Tommy was starting to grow taller by the day.

The woman eventually noticed him, and like a trapped animal quietly talked to him, “It seems you’re back. You are also late. Not day-dreaming were you?”

“No Ma’am,” he said with a sweet smile, through gritted teeth. So what if he daydreamed? It wasn’t like it was killing anyone, he thought bitterly. The woman, however, visibly relaxed, “I’ll warm up the fireplace quickly to make up for it,” he smelled the sweet scent of food. Food he knew he would not be eating today, “Are you cooking something?”

Her light grimace shifted into a frown. How had he already messed up?, “You know we don’t have enough money to feed you every day. If we had the money for a growing boy like yourself, we would have our own son.”

With a strained smile, he said, “Of course Ma’am. I was just wondering since I smelled it,” his mind raced for something to do so he ended up nervously laughing, “I’m sure the both of you would be like church rabbits, given the chance.”

She frowned disapprovingly at his joke before she slipped into a semi dream state. That dream was probably one where they didn’t have to take care of his sorry ass and could continue to be the lovely couple they were known to be before. His dad had not really liked his uncle or aunt from what he remembered, but the wishes of a dead man never really meant anything. 

(In many ways Tommy was like a dead man. Like someone had locked away his soul and was using his body.)

He placed the first log chip on the station and readied himself. He swung with all his silent fury and log after log was split. His hands were sore and his eyes were blurry, but he didn’t stop. If he stopped he might have broken down. If he stopped, he might have cried. 

(Tommy Big Man Innit would not cry. They could take his pride, his wings, hell they could even take his life, but they would never see him cry.)

Eventually, he heard the soft clomping of horse hooves, signaling that his uncle was back from town. Just fucking great. If there was anything he needed right now it was his uncle screaming in his face. He didn’t dare let his thoughts reach his face though. He made sure the fire in the house was nice and warm, and that the logs placed by the fireplace, were nice and neat. 

His uncle came into the house already scowling. He was yelling at his wife for something before he locked his ugly bloodshot eyes on Tommy, “You! What are you doing in the house so late.” 

Tommy struggled to keep a passive face.. He was always kicked out of the house at dusk. If his all-knowing and all-seeing uncle looked out the window he would see that it was in fact not dusk. Instead, he gave a small frown and mumbled, “I’m sorry sir. I was just trying to tidy up everything and didn’t check the time. I’ll leave now.”

He attempted to quickly exit the house, but his uncle grabbed his arm. Fear filled his veins, “I better not see you in this house tomorrow. Do your chores and stay where you belong. Y’hear me boy?”

Tommy felt like his arm was on fire, “Yes Sir. Of Course Sir.”

He let go of his arm and Tommy ran for his life.

_Tommy remembered distinctly the first time he had entered the dream world. It took a bit of energy for people to enter the dream world, so people usually joined for the first time around the first two weeks of their fifth birthday. Of course, Tommy had been a late bloomer, so at the ripe age of five years and three months old he awoke, not to a regular dream, no, but to a forest. He could tell it was different just by how real everything felt. He could feel the soft rise and fall of his chest, and when he touched his skin it had the familiar lukewarm, silky smooth touch._

_If this was the soul connection, then where were his soulmates?_

_He started to walk around. He didn’t make any noise, because his mummy had warned him to be quiet if he ever got lost in the woods. She also told him to keep an ear out for hissing footsteps. So he kept these things in mind, as he shuffled his way through the forest and kept an eye on everything._

_Soon enough he heard the faint sound of… someone singing? No mobs he knew sung, but, just in case, he bobbed and weaved through the woods, keeping his footsteps quick and quiet as his daddy taught him. Soon enough in the distance, he saw a bit of yellow. On further inspection, he came to the brilliant conclusion, that it was a teenager in a yellow sweater. He was singing quite loudly for Tommy’s tastes, but the actual singing was rather nice. It was peaceful, and calmed the previously startled boy down._

_He was so focused on the singing, he lost his footing, and his foot stomped on a leaf making a loud crunch sound. The yellow-clad teen perked at the sound and reached for a small sword. Tommy’s brain told him to scrunch himself down into the trees and run, but his gut told him to stay in view. He followed his gut and stayed still._

_The teen looked at him and blinked, before giving a small smile, “Hey kid, what did you think of my singing."_

_"It was shit," as seriously as he could with his squeaky five year old voice._

_Instead of getting mad like most old people, the teenager just grinned wider, "I would like to see you do better child."_

_Tommy's small face morphed into a scowl, "I'm not a child! I'm a- I'm a big man."_

_The teen only laughed at his indignation. He got up and walked over, "Really now? Would this 'big man' like to come with me to set his spawn point? We built a whole room for you."_

_Despite his earlier weariness, Tommy couldn't help but smile, "Yes please!”_

_The two began to walk, and Tommy smiled, listening to him talk, “We have been waiting for you for three months! Though I should thank you. Dadza got a reasonable amount of sleep for once. I’ve seen that man go to, er, work on, like, 30 minutes of sleep.”_

_“Dadza?”_

_The teen laughed, “Oh yea! Me and one of the other soulmates were adopted by our oldest soulmate.”_

_Tommy couldn’t help but pout. Why did one of his soulmates have to be old? Old people weren’t cool. The universe was mean._

_Soon enough, through the thick woods, he saw a small clearing. In that clearing was a cottage. As he marveled at the beauty of the shelter, he noted that it was twice as big as his own home. He could tell part of it was new because of the age of the wood. Was that his room? Tommy couldn’t help but hop a bit as he walked._

_The teen noticed his excitement and chuckled, “Notice your room? We made it a while ago to be honest. It took like two-ish years for the others to build it,” He puffed out his chest and grinned, “I helped make the blueprint though.”_

_They walked through the front door and Tommy instantly liked the house even more. The first room had a place for shoes. He saw a pair of house slippers and combat boots by the door. The room then widened and expanded to a kitchen. The kitchen reminded him, somehow, of his own mother’s kitchen. It had that same slight coldness when there was nothing cooking, it had the same too big stools that Tommy could barely climb up to, and the same muddy footprints from someone who hadn’t wiped their feet on the mat as they entered. It lacked the memories, but Tommy could tell he would make plenty here._

_“You like it Little Man?”_

_“Yes- wait no. I’m not a little man!”_

_The teen raised a hand to his chin and thought, “What do we even call you? Raccoon?”_

_“I’m not a raccoon!”_

_“You seemed like one hiding in the bushes!” Tommy’s unimpressed glare made him sigh, “Fine, that doesn’t have to be your main nickname. Though, It’s definitely going to be one of them though.”_

_Tommy rolled his eyes, "If I'm Raccoon, then you have to be twig!_

_The teen blinked like Tommy had three heads, "Twig? Where did you get that from?"_

_Tommy looked him up and down then gestured with his chubby arms to the teen's thin frame, "You are pretty small for an old person."_

_"Kid I'm fifteen-"_

_Tommy eagerly nodded, "Yeah!"_

_The teen rolled his eyes and led him down the hall with a hum. As Tommy temporarily rested in the bed, he couldn't help but think about the soft melody. It wasn't a song that Tommy had heard before, which was odd since his mother loved music. When the two would be alone, probably doing some chore in the house, he would sit in the tight nook of her wings, and they would make up small tunes._

_"That's it!" he shouted as he shot himself out of the bed. His sudden outburst scared the older kid into jumping._

_He turned to him and blinked owlishly, "What's it?"_

_"Your name will be Tune!"_

After that day Tommy realized that his uncle just didn't want him in the house at all. It was fine ,Tommy was a big man, so a little extra time in the woods didn't hurt. After all, eventually his uncle would calm down and let him back in. Until then, his small shelter mostly kept out the elements, and it was far enough from the farmhouse that Tommy could freely daydream.

(Now that he spent more time in the forest he heard the soft grumbles and clanks of mobs more. He wasn't actually scared, but it did make him on edge.)

That and being banished from the house meant he had enough time for his new hobby.

See, it had all started a couple of weeks ago. Tommy had seen a suspicious person lurking on the outside of his guardians' property. Never one to let wrongin' walk free, he had ambushed the person from the bushes.

The fight had been won before it had really started. In a second he had the stranger in a headlock, with them gasping for breath. It was only then that he realised that the intruder was much too small to seriously fight, the ambush enough would probably scare them away.

Instead of running away however, the stranger jumped to their feet and smiled at him. The short, brown haired boy picked up his hat from the ground and introduced himself as Tubbo, and that he was trying to join a fighting ring and was looking for a partner. Tommy had stared at him, waiting for this “Tubbo” to say he was joking, but the boy assured him he was completely serious.

Now, Tommy knew how illegal fighting rings were. Even his uncle, ever the fan of violence, had a disdain for them. On the other hand, Tommy wasn't exactly a bad fighter, and if the fighting ring paid, which it did, he could save some money to leave home.

So he had agreed that after a bit of training he would join the ring. The next few days he must have asked Red for more practice, because his form became more steady as the days went on. To the fact even his waking self remembered, on the final day of training, the compliment he had given him. 

His partner wasn't as experienced in fighting, but he was pretty good. During the day Tubbo helped his parents with the bee farm they worked on. They had trained a couple of times together there, on mobs in the area, and eventually reached a good harmony. Tommy would punch the mob in the face, then tubbo would slam them in the gut. If somehow the mob got up they would hit it together.

To say Tommy was excited on the day when he first showed up to the ring, would be an understatement. The ring was located in an used part of the land the ring leader’s parents didn’t use. The kid seemed to be pretty well off, but instead of saving his money or going to the town and buying random shit, he decided to open a fighting ring. Tommy couldn't exactly say he agreed with his logic but the product he made was beautiful.

Tommy's first fight was like poetry in motion. Like words from a page, each hit flew into his opponent. Every hit Tommy received was merely a lapse in motivation, because soon enough, he would continue his torment. In fact, it was only after the fight had ended, Tommy had received his money, and had started to walk to his shelter that he registered the fact he was injured. Tommy knew that it was misplaced glee, but it was the happiest he had been while awake for years. 

He and Tubbo became quick friends after that. The crowd that gathered around for the duo's victories paid fat stacks. He and Tubbo usually hung outside the ring after their fights, talking about anything and everything. He wasn't a soulmate, but he felt like one.

(He only knew how to clean bee wings, but Tubbo tried his damndest to clean Tommy's. His wings still looked worse for wear, but they felt better. The day after when he woke up, and wasn't in blood curdling pain, he almost cried.)

The beginning of the end started like this, Tommy and Tubbo had won another fight. After, the duo went to the bee farm to hang out. The Tubbo was trying to get Tommy to reach a beehive on a tree and Tommy was having none of it.

"Tubbo for the last time, I am not touching that fuckin' beehive."

"Come on Tommy," Tubbo whined, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. Tommy rolled his eyes. Tubbo might have seemed "cute and wholesome" to others, but he knew better. The boy had a cruel streak to him. He was one of the few people on earth that could make Tommy honestly doubt himself.

"There's no way this hive isn't going to attack me. Unlike you, I am not a bee whisperer. Hell, I barely whisper. I'm too loud to be even near these bees. You know what," Tommy said, beginning to walk away, "I should move."

Tubbo held on to his arm, "Tommy, Tommy. The bees love you! In fact, you fit right in with them. You're loud and aggressive, they're loud and aggressive. They might even think you're their queen," Tommy kept walking. 

Ahead he spotted a short man tweaking out beside Tubbo’s fence. Tommy put his hand on the handle of Skullcrusher and nudged Tubbo. He blinked before meeting Tommy’s gaze and his face went sour. He signaled at Tommy to drop his weapon and walked over to the odd man.

“Quackity, what are you doing here," Tubbo’s voice was slightly intrigued, but there was a slight firmness to it.

“ Tubs. Wait no, Tibby? Anyway, Buddy! Funny running into you here,” Tommy raised an eyebrow. Was this man mentally ok? He looked to Tubbo and the boy just rolled his eyes.

“Big Q, I live here.”

“Really? That’s crazy man. Anyways, man would you like some happy-”

“The answer is still no. Why are you trying to sell 'happy flowers' anyways?”

The man blinked a little nervously, "I need the money for something," then he started smiling, "But it will probably work out. Everyone needs happy flowers you know!”

"Well Big Q, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. If any of the workers saw you here we would be screwed," The man started to screech so Tubbo gave a nod to Tommy, "Please I can barely handle this big man. I would hurry before he gets the wrong idea."

Tommy gave him a feral grin, “I’m always trying to expand my win count.”

Quackity instantly stopped screeching and ran off mumbling. Tubbo had sighed as soon as he was gone from view. 

"Who was that," Tommy asked, finally relaxing.

"Quackity fights with the older kids. He's pretty shady though. I heard they’re thinking of banning him from the ring," Tubbo explained, making his way to another hive. 

He paused as if he was thinking about something, until he had eye contact with Tommy again. Then he pouted, “So you would fight for me, but you wouldn’t touch a little old beehive?”

Tommy let out a snort, “Listen here _Tibby_ , not everyone is a hoe for bees.”

Though Tommy had the money, he didn't have the resources to get food. Town was a far distance away. That's why Tommy of the past had tried to keep his head down and listen to his guardians. He didn't like their more creative punishments.

That's what he had thought it was, in the beginning. A simple temporary punishment. But it had been two weeks and Tommy was slowly starting to realize that this was permanent. How could he go on forever without his main source of food? A man could only eat so much salted rotten flesh before he started to get desperate

Desperate enough that the next day, when he knew his uncle was good and gone, he visited the farm house. Somehow the sight of the warm looking cottage made him sick to his stomach. Which was not a good combo with hunger. He quieted down his nerves and put back on his sweet boy persona. He wasn't looking for a full course meal, just some dinner scraps would do.

He paused abruptly before leaving the shadows. He saw some sort of hired hand chopping wood. Since when did they have the money for a hired hand? His aunt wasn’t a sweet woman but she always seemed honest. Had she been lying to him this whole time? He felt his whole body shudder. 

Was he so unloved? 

He fled to his shelter with tears stinging his eyes. He wasn’t the best person, he knew this as a fact, but he also knew as a fact that someone, somewhere had to love him, right? His soulmates did, probably, or was that another lie? He clenched his hands into fists. No, now was no time for doubt.

He went hunting for more food. As usual he didn’t find any cows. He found a couple of pigs but even now he couldn’t bring himself to kill them. Later when the hunger grew drastic, he slayed a couple of zombies and cooked their flesh. After trying to eat it, however, he vomited. 

After a full day of avoiding his guardians and being a delinquent, the dreams felt jarring.  
They were still comforting, yes, but he felt more awkward. So here he was, in the woods fighting off any mob he happened to find, and avoiding everyone. The skeleton he was fighting, gave a soft hissing sound before collapsing into a pile of bones. He smirked at his handiwork.

"Dare I say, you are becoming not horrible at fighting," said a voice behind him. Tommy jumped before whipping around seeing Piglet leaning against the tree, one of his pig-like ears twitching in acknowledgement.

He hesitated a bit to banter back to Piglet, but somehow he doubted he would mind, "Don't you mean I'm getting better?"

Piglet shrugged slightly, but his eyes were more focused on staring into his soul. Tommy gripped the sword firmly, only to loosen it when Piglet pushed himself off the tree, "Sure. Want to spar?"

At least it wasn't a conversation, "Why not, Aries."

Piglet took out the training swords they usually used and tossed one to Tommy. As soon as he gripped the sword, the fight was on. Piglet's stance was relaxed but purposeful. Tommy had fought a couple of people like him in the ring. They were much stronger than Tommy, but they lacked one important skill, social skills.

"Tiny," he paused, a question waiting to leave his lips. He ducked under a sword swipe with a grin. He lunged forward with an attack that Piglet easily avoided.

"No," from his altered position Piglet hissed, then he slammed his sword down, slashing Tommy's arm. Tommy swung his sword in spite, but aimed it so the other man would be forced to an awkward spot, then having to correct himself.

"I haven't asked anything yet, Big Man," he jabbed at Piglet's left side, and amazingly enough, grazed him. Piglet let out a soft grunt before charging at him.

"You know Tiny is one of my banned nicknames," he disarmed Tommy in a swift final cut. When the fire of the fight left his eyes he said, "If it wasn't for your yapping you wouldn't have gotten a hit."

Tommy shrugged, putting pressure on his wound, "That's why I yap."

Piglet rolled his eyes before picking up the swords to put them back in the weapons room. When he reached the tree line he shouted over his shoulder, "Go to the kitchen. Eagle is there."

Tommy felt his heart jump into his mouth, "Why would I need Chicken exactly?"

Piglet gave him a deadpan look, "We both know you don't know how to even use a bandaid Child."

Tommy frowned, of course he had to be right, "Hey! That's Theseus to you, pal."

And with that he headed to the cottage. 

Talking to Dadza was hard. He used to babble a lot to the man when he was younger. He would tell him about everything and anything, and Dadza would patiently listen. After his parents died however, talking to him became a game of chess. He’d ask about Tommy’s schooling, which he hadn't done since he was 9, or about his daily life, which was full of pain and blood. It’s not that he wanted to lie to him. It just was easier this way. 

But today had been the fourth week he had been banned from the house and he was slowly starting to go insane. So after the man had banaged him up, Tommy sat awkwardly watching him as he washed dishes, trying to figure out how to interact without giving too much away. 

After a while of silence, Dadza said, “How have things been, mate?”

Horrible. Honestly Tommy didn’t know if he was coping well or if he was dragging himself deeper into trouble, “Pretty good.”

“Mhm?”

“Mhm.”

"Training is going well?"

"I managed to get a lick on Piglet so I would think so, yes."

“That’s good," he could see the soft proud smile from here. Ha, if only he knew what he was using it for, "Anything on your mind?”

“Not really,” he paused. He didn’t have to tell Dadza everything, but he could talk about something bothering him, right? They were soulmates for a reason, “Well. You see the thing is, lately I've been thinking about things.”

Dadza placed a dish on the dishrack. The fact he wasn’t staring at him was making this easy. Like way too easy. He felt like he could spill his entire life's story. Curse Dadza and his dad magic. He pulled himself together and prepared. He needed to up his defenses.

“What type of things,” Dadza said distantly.

“Just how life can seem confusing. Do you ever feel like you have control of your life, but also that it has an iron tight grip on you?”

“Yes and no. I’ve come to terms with the fact I don’t control my life a long time ago. But also, there's always a measure of control you have over it. What do you mean exactly?”

Tommy fidgeted in place, “Honestly, I don’t know. I just feel like everything is… changing. Change is good though, right?”

Finally, Dadza turned to him, “I can’t answer that if you don’t tell me anything, kid. What happened? You used to tell me everything that came to your mind.”

Tommy gave a small nervous laugh before saying, “Life, I guess.”

From there they went back into silence.

(Tommy hadn't eaten in four days.)

A week later, Tubbo and Tommy were at the fighting ring when the patrol stormed the place. Tommy instinctively reached out for his friend, gripping his arm. This patrol was different then the one that worked near town. Their clothing was more elegant, their armor more ominous, and their weapons more deadly. Every second they didn’t run, the chance of escape lowered.

Tommy went to run, before Tubbo yanked on his arm, “Tommy,” he hissed, “This is the _royal_ guard. If we run we will get in more trouble.”

Well fuck.

Tommy gave a firm nod before taking a deep breath. Red had taught him a while ago that if he ever was surrounded and escape was impossible, to take account of everything. He noticed that the guards were trying to just block off escape, but they weren’t attacking people. The more armored guards were sitting on horses trotting in a circle. They were… waiting. Waiting for what? Maybe someone in command?

Now thinking about it, why in God’s name was the royal guard here? Wasn’t this a bit below their pay grade? Tommy squeezed Tubbo’s arm a bit tighter. Something was up. The guard was closing the circle, so the duo began to inched closer to the center. 

Eventually when the circle became tight enough, a particularly elegant guard trotted their horse to the front of the circle. Their horse was a ghostly white, against its engraved and enchanted golden armor. They jumped off the horse and gave it a soft pat before saying, “Everyone kneel and welcome His Royal Highness, Prince Wilbur.”

Both boys took a sharp breath as they saw him enter, but it was Tommy that started to panic. He looked exactly like Tune, but surely this wasn’t possible, right? He had to be insane. Had the lack of food made Tommy hullcaitate? 

“You must be wondering why you were gathered here today,” his voice was definitely the same, but he was putting on a commanding tone. He could see it working on the others, but it seemed so out of character that it almost made Tommy want to laugh. The type of nervous laughter you had when you realised your childhood friend was a fuckin’ prince. Go figure.

“We have discovered practically illegal has occurred here, and we are here to get the information we need. As long as you do your civilian duties, none of you shall be arrested,” he continued his gaze sweeping across the crowd. Tommy tried to duck before he saw him, but curse his amazing height, they made eye contact. Tu- Wilbur’s eyes slightly widened before hardening. 

Tommy let go of Tubbo’s arm and shuffled behind him, wings painfully tucking themselves tighter. 

“Tubbo,” he whispered hastily, “ I am so fucked."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Rain and I were editing, it was just a whole game show of comma or no comma, ngl. During the time we were editing I married, divorced, and remarried the comma. 
> 
> …
> 
> Listen, commas are cool.


	3. Three can get Homely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH ITS FINALLY DONE! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS KUDOS, COMMENTED, AND BOOKMARKED. I EXPECTED LIKE 7 BOOKMARKS AND YOU GUYS SAID NO????? ILYSM/P ENJOY. STILL WANNA SEE SOME THANK YOU RAINS IN THE CHAT BOYS
> 
> TW: idk bro mentioned of people dying ??

Tommy nervously readjusted his shirt. He sat in an uncomfortably firm chair, in what was probably an interrogation room , and sitting across from him was a very angry _Prince Wilbur_. He was glaring daggers into Tommy’s skull, and Tommy was tactfully avoiding eye contact. He was mostly succeeding, but he could tell the silence wouldn’t last long.

“Before I actually murder you,” Wilbur started clamly, “Let me ask, what’s your name? And how the hell do you have wings?”

Tommy cleared his throat, “Um, it’s Tommy. And... genetics?”

Wilbur’s eye twitch, “You know that’s not what I meant. You don’t have wings in the dream world, why do you have them here?”

Tommy sighed, “I don’t know,” He went to say Tune, then thought against it, Should he call him Wilbur or Prince Wilbur? Tommy decided to just address him at all, “It wasn’t my choice.”

Wilbur sighed, “Ok, whatever. Tommy, why are you here, in a fighting ring, an illegal fighting ring might I add?”

“Um-”

“ _And don’t you dare lie to me._ ”

Well there goes Tommy’s plan, “I really don’t know? I was offered to come here.”

Wilbur forcefully closed his eyes and pinched his nose, an exasperated sigh leaving his mouth, “Tommy,” Tommy gritted his teeth. Why did he say his name like it was the worst thing on earth? “-you can’t just do something because someone offered it to you. Since you obviously don’t have any good excuse to be here let me reiterate, what the _fuck_ do you think you are doing? This is going to make everything so much harder. What are we supposed to say to the citizens, ‘Oh, your new prince is a criminal, but you should still follow the law!’” 

Tommy clenched his fists, but let the man continue, “Do you even know what is happening here? This is much bigger than just a couple of playground fights! Think about all the people in your life that worry about you! Phil, Techno, and I have been trying to find out what’s wrong with you for years. Don’t even get me started on how worried your parent’s must be-”

Tommy stood and shot back a glare back to Wilbur, “Considering they are _dead_ , I don’t think they have much of an opinion.”

The room goes silent. 

Wilbur’s eyes widen, his whole posture loosening, “Tomm-”

“You are acting like I, like I fucking killed somebody! I haven't done anything wrong, and if you got your head out of your own ass you would see that!”

Wilbur didn’t reply for a while. He just stared at Tommy with horror. Eventually, he shook his head and said quietly, “Tommy, why didn’t you tell us?”

“Why does it matter,” he shot back defensively, crossing his arms and looking away. The pity in Wilbur’s eyes was exactly why he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want their pity then, and he certainly didn’t want it now. 

“It matters,” Wilbur replied with a firm genetiness, “because we would have helped you. You,” he paused, “you didn’t have to suffer alone. I know Phil would have frozen hell over if it meant helping you.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. It was easy to tell a clearly suffering orphan that after, but there was no way they would have helped him before. It had been the three of them in the dream world for years, he was just an addition. But he couldn’t disagree with him, “Sure.”

Wilbur gave Tommy a once over before getting up, “Do you have any guardians I need to speak to?”

Tommy gave a dark chuckle, “I doubt they would care, why?”

Wilbur had a brief unreadable expression, before he flashed a mischievous smile, “Because I am going to take you to the castle. I’m sure Puffy can handle the rest of the interrogation.”

After doing so much emotional labor, Tommy didn’t have the energy to disagree, so he just nodded. He followed the prince out of the room. If he was going to the castle that meant he was gonna be poked and prodded by Dadza, which just so happened to be the emperor... Perfect.

(Wait did this mean that the man he called Tiny a couple of days was _The Technoblade_

…

Ok so, there might be an upside to this.)

They exit the hallway and dodge most of the guards. Eventually they reach some sort of guard camp. The same elegant guard with the white horse is there and Wilbur signals her over. 

"Puffy!I have other business that must be attended to, so do you think you can handle this yourself?"

The guard, Puffy Tommy guesses, laughs, but whatever she says is lost to Tommy's paranoia. Someone had seen him with the prince, so if he tried to run they would know what he looked like. Worst yet she looked decent at her job. She smiled at him like she hadn’t ruined his life. What a bitch. 

Tommy's mind scrambled for an escape plan, but he was starting to wonder what he was escaping from. He wouldn't have to talk to his aunt and uncle if he went with Wilbur! Hell, he would probably have enough guards to destroy anyone who slightly resembled them. But Tommy hated the word _probably_. Probably left room for failure. There was a chance this was all a lie, a chance that he would be paraded as some sort of charity case.

He jolted from his grim thoughts by the warmth on his shoulder. Tun- Wilbur was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, before pointing to a carriage, not just any carriage, it was a royal mother fuckin' carriage. Tommy could already feel his stomach drop. God no, not a carriage. He bites the side of his cheek to keep back a panicked noise. 

The both of them pile into the fancy carriage, and Wilbur won’t stop staring at him. Tommy pointedly avoids his eyes by looking at the window. Faintly, Tommy knew that avoiding Wilbur would only make the times they did interact more awkward, but seeing how Tommy had spilled his biggest secret to win an argument, and how his heart was beating a little more than usual, he didn’t trust himself to speak. 

One question swirled his brain, what would happen when the others found out? Would they drop it like Wilbur did? Would they get mad at him? He frowned. If they did get mad, he would have nowhere to go and he would be in a completely different city. Part of him said they wouldn’t be mad, but he never knew. People were never honest with him, and he was never honest to people. It got tiring sometimes, dancing around the truth, but the truth hurt too much to bear.

After what felt like two hours of silence, he realised what Wilbur was doing. Tommy hated silence, if he was in a room with someone in the dream world he had to speak to them. He would even speak to Techno when the piglin had his bouts of complete silence. Wilbur was waiting for him to crack, and it was working. He gritted his teeth. Why did people have such extreme power over him? 

He sighed, giving in, but he was still not meeting the older man’s gaze, “You’re annoying, you know that right?”

Wilbur grinned triumphantly, “Not my fault I’ve known you since you were a child. I mean you still are one, but, I mean more of a child.”

Tommy shot Wilbur a glare, “ _I’m not a child._ What do you want?”

Wilbur opened his mouth, before closing it and tilting his head, “Why aren’t you saying my name?”

Tommy blinked before glaring harder, “You avoided my question.”

“You avoided mine,” he replied evenly. God, Tune was so much more smug in person. That smugness did nothing to amend Tommy’s thundering heart. He bit the side of his cheek to stop any escaping sounds and focused back to the window.

He heard the flutter of fabric, signaling Wilbur had crossed the room. Before he knew it!  
Tommy was being wrapped in a hug. Tommy tried to hold back his tears, but he couldn’t, and every heartbreak, every little pain, spilled out. The harder he cried, the tighter Wilbur held him.

“Tommy,” Wilbur whispered, “it’s going to be ok. I’m not mad, well, I’m not mad at you. I’m just worried.”

Tommy let out a wet laugh, “Worried. Haven’t heard that in awhile.”

They go back into semi silence, the only sound being Wilbur's soft hums. 

"You know," Tommy said quietly as he fell into sleep, "my parents died in a carriage."

* * *

_August 25._

_That date haunted Tommy. Before that year, before that day, his parents had decided to move somewhere else. It had been exciting for eight year old Tommy! They would build a new home somewhere in the mountains. They had planned it for forever, even Tommy got to make some decisions on the house's blueprint._

_His parents decided that he would stay with his sickly grandmother, while they went on ahead to lay down the foundation. It was supposed to last a week. But when that one week became two, then three and four, everyone started to worry. They had sent out some cousin to check on them and the unthinkable had happened._

_They never found the bodies, only the overturned carriage. Everyone knew that if you didn't get to the bodies in time it would become zombie food. Most likely his parents had become some sort of skeleton, that had been mercilessly destroyed by a hunter, but baby Tommy couldn't handle that._

_The full blissful year he lived with his grandma he kept thinking that his parents would come back. Sure their carriage had been on its head with mud going so high it would make it impossible for someone to breathe for long, but there were no bodies. No bodies meant no proof._

_But then Death swiped for him again and missed; he got sick. He remembered not being able to get up for days, just the thought of standing set his head spinning. His grandma had taken care of him, until she herself got sick. The world blurred and there was a time he swore he saw his parents' ghostly faces._

_He would survive this illness, but of course,_

_his grandma would not._

_Having no one else to take care of him, it fell to his uncle and aunt. His uncle and aunt were considered good people by many. They didn't talk much, but when they did they were cheery and gracious. Their graciousness had lasted one week for Tommy._

_The change was sudden. One night they seemed off put by Tommy, and the next morning there was an animosity storm that he could see in their eyes. It didn’t take long for the scathing mutters to escalate into beatings and screams from his uncle. His aunt only had so much patience for Tommy’s outbursts, but if he was quiet enough she would baby him. Sometimes when he would stay up, she would stay up with him, holding him tightly. They were both dreamers waiting for a better life, long forgotten._

_Eventually his uncle became too much, so she gave up hope. Their small kindredness shattered and she became resentful of him._

_(He was related to his uncle through his mother. Sometimes he wondered if she saw his uncle in him, and that's why she hated and feared him so. He didn't ask. If it was true then, well, her cruelness was his fault._

_~~Not that he thought that it wasn't his fault already~~.)_

_He considered telling his soulmates, really he did, but why give up hope? One day, his mother might come to the door and wrap him in the tightest hug. One day, his father might come by and light him a fire in the cold walls of his shelter he was exiled to at the age of thirteen. One day, they might come back and save him._

_So he kept quiet. No need to worry his soulmates._

_( ~~Right?~~ ) _

* * *

Tommy awoke from a quiet evening in the dream world, to the rattling of the carriage. Wilbur hadn't joined him in the dream world, yet he barely looked tired. Jesus, they really didn't sleep. It was comforting however to know that someone was awake in case a creeper had blown up the carriage, or if a skeleton had shot a tire. He almost felt safe.

The two had walked through a secret way into the place. The walls were a rich red with gold trim. Even the floor, a dark brown wood, felt rich. Tommy couldn't help but wonder what led people who lived in a place like this to start camping out in the woods. Maybe it was the calm of the cottage or the warmth of the people. It was something only a rich asshole would be able to understand.

"Don't tell me you took on that case by yourself," a voice called from down the hall. Tommy eminently knew it was Piglet. He squared his shoulders and slightly hid behind Wilbur.

"Yes, I did. But! I managed to meet this little gremlin," Wilbur sidestepped out of the way, destroying Tommy's hiding spot. The tall piglin locked eyes on Tommy's frame, and Tommy could see Techno in his full glory. Unlike Wilbur, the royal title suited him much better. He looked regal, commanding, and hell, even a bit scary. 

"Theseus," Techno looked at him puzzled before donning a deadpanned look, "Yeah no, looking back what did I honestly think you were doing with that training other than being in a fighting pit. Did you at least win?"

"Techno!"

Techno placed his coat on Tommy's shoulders, before supporting Wilbur, who at that moment gave way to his tiredness, "What? It's a good question?"

Tommy gave a shit eating grin keeping pace with the others, "Yup, I did win. Hell, I was one of the best fighters in the age group I fought in."

Techno's snout scrunched, "There's age limited fights? Are you sure you went to the right place, Wilbur?"

From the look they were giving each other, Techno was definitely doing more than just asking that question, "I'm sure."

Techno nodded before looking back to Tommy, "You might want to shower before you see Philza. He..." Techno paused, and through the monotone, you could hear the hint of humor in his voice, "you know how he gets."

Tommy nodded trying to keep his face somewhat positive, but inwardly he was panicking. Meeting Philza was going to be difficult. The others always had touch and go type of relationship with Tommy. They were worried, but they thought that with enough positive reinforcement, Tommy would open up on his own. Philza knew better, so he would press the issue just enough that it was out of Tommy's control, but didn't make him too uncomfortable. And Philza had fucking dad magic. Would the magic be more powerful in the real world? Tommy could only hope it wouldn't.

Wilbur seemed to semi understand his emotions though, "We can stall him for a bit. He will probably fuss over me for an hour."

"And if you need more time, Wilbur sometimes mysteriously gets hurt."

"Technoblade, if you lay a finger on me I will have all the guards hunt you down. I will use your body for science. No one will remember your miserable existence."

Damn it, uncomfortable or not, Tommy had known these people since he was five. He couldn’t skip out on a chance to tease one of them, "Then couldn't he just use a bow?"

Wilbur feigned a gasp, "Tommy! How could you betray me like this?"

They snuck through royal halls and eventually reached what looked like the entrance of a bed room. Techno flicked an ear before perking up. Wilbur seemed to sense the problem and whispered, "Dadza is close." Tommy could feel the panic blooming in his chest, "Go down the hall and to the right. Tell them that Wilbur sent you, if they ask. I doubt they will though."

Tommy nodded and headed down the hall. The guards gave him strange looks, but the unflinching glare he gave them shut them up quickly. He felt like he was infiltrating the castle. Tommy smirked, he felt like _such_ a dirty crime boy. He opened the door into the shower, and looked around. It wasn’t super amazing, but it certainly was impressive. He remembered his uncle teaching him how to do the redstone for the simple heating mechanism the farmhouse used. It was very difficult at first but eventually he got confident enough to do it on his own. This heating system looked fairly more complex. 

Tommy turned on the water then the magama coils. He took off his clothes and sunk into the warm water and paused. It had been awhile since he truly relaxed. There were no fights, no mobs, and no house full of anticipated screams and future bruises; Tommy could close his eyes and just... rest.

* * *

_"Mum!"_

_His mum sighed before opening an eye, "Inside voices honey."_

_Young Tommy frowned before asking curiously, "Why are you just laying there?"_

_His mother was laying on her back on the grass, letting her wings stretch out. Tommy shuffled his way under her chin enjoying her warmth, "Sometimes in life, things get tiring, and it's hard to know when to relax. Right now, I'm relaxing."_

_Tommy tilted his head, "I thought things weren't tiring right now? Everything seems pretty good."_

_His mother hummed, "As much as I love you kiddo, having children is very tiring."_

_Tommy whined again, only gaining giggles from his mum, "I don't think I will ever need to relax; I'm too cool for that."_

_His mum's smile turned slightly strict, "It's easy to keep going when things get hard, believe it or not. Relaxing is not a bad thing Toms. It's a good way to end a time in your life. Good way to prepare for change"_

_"Like how we going to move, Mum?"_

_"Yes, just like that Tommy."_

_September 22nd  
_

* * *

He knew the feeling wouldn't last, but he felt almost like his sins had been washed off. His untreated cuts and bruises stung a bit but he could tell the water was good for them. He had a certain nasty bruise across his front, from a boot stomp, and it was starting to become less purple? Tommy realised that the water must have had a bit of regen in it. He stopped his thoughts from racing and tried to just enjoy the time.

Before his mind could drift into sleep, however, he heard the stomps of familier boots and unmistakable hooves. There were two sets of footsteps with him, meaning Philza had learned of his existence in the palace, and probably a couple of other unwanted things. Tommy sunk deeper into the water and groaned. 

"Where is he," he heard Philza's muffled voice ask.

"I'm unsure, he could be anywhere. Honestly, why are we searching for him again?" Wilbur's voice was rapid, yet controlled. 

There was a soft sigh, "Techno do you know where he might be?" Damn it. Techno couldn't lie to save his life. It seems like his moment of peace was over.

"He's in the shower room," he heard Wilbur make an affronted noise, "Look, we both know we were screwed. There's no point in lying now. The kid can probably hear us too."

Tommy sighed before saying loudly, "Yeah, I can."

"Stay there let me get you into something to wear," Philza shouted and then he rushed away. 

"Wilbur you had one job," Tommy hissed as soon as Philza was out of earshot.

"I had one job?! Techno is literally here too!"

"We both know he doesn't have enough social skills to combat," Tommy paused looking for a name, "Mother Hen."

"Huh? What do my social skills have to do with this?"

"Everything!" Tommy and Wilbur shouted at the same time.

"I'm starting to feel personally attacked. I could easily leave and let the two of you deal with Philza."

Tommy couldn't help but smile, it wasn't like anyone was looking at him anyway, "On second thought, your social skills are amazing. Some of the best! Never before have there been someone more sociable than you. It's basically mind control."

"Just as I thought," a body fell onto the door, presumably Techno from the loudness of the thud. Tommy huffed, tilting his head to the door so he could hear his soulmates better. They were whispering something faintly. He could hear it with his avian ears, but the words were not in a language he understood. Eventually Techno says in Common, "He's coming back."

Light footsteps walked closer to the door, "Can I open the door? I'll just put the clothes in."

Tommy almost laughed, imagine giving people a choice with a clear right answer, "Sure."

The door opened and royal looking clothing with a cloak dropped to the floor. Jesus, they were going all out. Tommy put on the clothes and felt warm, yet again. He allowed himself to smile at the feeling, before sobering up.

Taking a deep breath he opened the door slightly and peaked out. Philza met eyes with him, and he could tell the man was conflicted. Thousands of emotions danced in Philza's eyes before they vanished leaving a neutral face. Said face grinned eventually and said, "I'm glad the clothes fit. Why I remembered your clothing size and not other things is beyond me."

That comment was definitely about his ugly ass wings, so he chose to ignore it with a shrug, "I'm not surprised."

"You probably haven't eaten, and knowing Wilbur and Techno, they probably haven't either, how does dinner sound?"

Tommy opened his mouth to reply, but Wilbur butted in, "Excellent! I haven't eaten in ages. What did you have in mind?"

Philza softly grabbed Tommy's shoulders, something that Tommy was trying _real hard_ not to focus on, and pushed the boy down the hall, "Whatever Tommy wants."

Does saying, _"I would normally eat anything, since I've been starved for so long, but the thought of eating right now makes me want to stab myself in the stomach. I don't even know if food would actually, you know, stay in my system,"_ make it seem like he has issues? Because honestly, Tommy wasn't feeling hungry. He was tempted to not answer but he was being pushed, presumably to the dining hall, and he was surrounded by overly worried adults.

So Tommy shrugged, "I'm down for anything really."

Philza's grip slightly tightened. Tommy felt his heart drop, but he tried to remember that Philza wasn't his uncle, "That's fine mate. We can eat some beef ribs? I think we’re bound to have some around here somewhere."

They reached the dining room and Tommy barely managed to conceal his awe. The room had high ceilings, and beautiful gold trims and decorations. The actual table was big and crafted out of dark oak. This obviously wasn't a guest room for guests, since the table was too small for many people.

Wilbur walked forward, "I'll get someone to serve," he turned to Techno, "Care to join?"

Tommy narrowed his eyes, they were definitely leaving them with Phil if Techno agreed. Techno hated talking to people, and hated ordering people around even more. Well, Piglet was like that, Tommy reminded himself. These people were different. They were closed to the family he knew, but not the same.

Technoblade, of course, nodded and walked away with Wilbur. Silence rang between the two blondes and Tommy started to notice just how _interesting_ the ground looked. He had looked at it for a distraction but the carpet was honestly pretty nice. The dark red swirls with accents of yellow made the room feel even more rich.

(He couldn’t help but be happy he had that time to bath. It’d be a shame if he got his dirty feet all over it and ruined it.)

"Kiddo," he heard. He considered not replying. Why should he? But then guilt and panic pulsed through Tommy.

"Yes," he asked pointedly, not looking at the man.

"Your wings- Would you mind me preening them?" Tommy entered fight or flight. Tubbo had earned touching his wings though their friendship and deep understanding. Did he trust Philza enough to touch his wings? The answer was no, but Tommy couldn't help but wonder why. 

"Would prefer if you didn't. I am aware that they look bad though."

There was a warmth to the man's voice, but the warmth didn't reach his eyes, "I've seen worse. In fact, my own wings have gotten pretty bad. It depends on the injury, but they were also good as new."

"Is that right?" Maybe he would be able to fly one day.

"Mhm. If you ever feel up for it ask me, anytime."

Tommy nodded with a frown on his face, and looked away, hoping the silence would continue. It was tense, but it reminded Tommy of his dreams. A type of tenseness that hopefully didn't lead to pain.

"Well. Until things get sorted, I think you should stay with us. It's about afternoon now, so you can get settled for the rest of the day," Philza gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Tommy shrugged casually, but it also shifted Phil's hand off his shoulder, "Sure." 

Philza stiffened, but he let his hand drop to his side, "Is there something you want to ask me before the others come back?"

Tommy opened his mouth to say no, but something about the man's tone made him feel like he had to reply. Tommy clenched his fists, "Why aren't you mad?"

Philza chuckled, "Unlike Wilbur, I'm not new to fighting rings, or the types of people in them," Tommy distantly wondered how he even knew about that, before deciding he didn't care, "It's how I met Techno, actually. It would only be fitting that I meet my last soulmate through the same way I met my first, don't you think?"

Tommy finally met the man's eyes. His emerald eyes gazed back welcoming , "What makes you think I'm the last? We could have another."

Phil gave him such a meaningful and sad look before stating, "Before you were born I knew something was missing. It was us three in that cabin, and sure it was homely, but it wasn't complete. The minute I got your soulmark, I knew that it was finally complete."

Tommy let out a bitter laugh, "If three isn't a crowd, then surely four is."

"Oh Tommy no," Phil looked at him, but he could see the look of pure love of his dad and his mum in that gaze, "Four was never a crowd, four was a family." He says it like its fact, and for the first time in years, Tommy believes him.

* * *

Believing Philza didn't make all his issues go away, Tommy didn't think it would. Tommy didn't believe in happy endings. Happy endings implied an _end_ , and Tommy had much more life to live. Death had shown him again and again that it wasn't his time to die.

Living takes real work. It takes working with Sam, his therapist, to make his mind not so scary. It takes honestly talking to Philza, in the dead of the night, about his darkest secrets. It takes training with Puffy, even when he feels like giving up on learning "civilized fighting".

But through that work Tommy can see the benefit. Even here in the dream cabin, what used to be his only safe haven, Tommy lives a happier life. Tommy still flinches from quick movements, but he was slowly starting to allow more physical touch. Tommy still found it hard to eat, but any food he wanted was hand delivered to him. Tommy still missed his parents, but he wasn't without family. Nothing was perfect, but the progress made Tommy feel good.

"Tommy," Wilbur was looming over his shoulders, "If you are going to space out, _maybe don't space out with a knife in your hands._ "

“I’m fine Wil! Can’t let a mere knife get _The Great Tommyinnit_ ,” he swung the knife around to prove his point. Wilbur made an affronted sound before trying to grab the knife from him. Tommy had expected this so he squatted, easily avoiding him. As Tommy stood up, Wilbur tripped on his own feet.

“Boys,” Philza said tiredly, “Please don’t fight with a knife.”

Tommy pouted, “He started it! He was just too jealous of how amazing I am,” Philza shook his head, barely hiding his amused expression. Wilbur gave him the middle finger as soon as the older man looked away. Tommy gasped in mock horror, “Chickennn, he’s being mean to me again! Tell him it’s not my fault I’m beautiful.”

“I think that’s the last thing Wilbur is worried about,” Techno mumbled under his breath, “Also could you please focus? I want this cake done tonight.”

“So bossy today aren’t we, _Mister The Blade_ ,” Tommy went back to his working station with a sigh.

“Please, I beg of you, stop calling me that. I dealt with years of Piglet, I can not do that."

Tommy gave an honest pitying look, "My apologies _Mister The Blade_."

"Phil-"

"No, you can not kill him."

Techno grumbled before returning to mixing the dry mix. Tommy smiled, not a teasing one, but a true, honest smile. He honestly couldn't wait to eat this cake. Food in the dream world sat better in his stomach. The thought of food in the overworld made him uneasy, so he looked for a distraction.

"Wil, can you play me a tune?"

"It's in the name, isn't it?" Wilbur brought out his guitar from his inventory and sat up at the kitchen counter, "What song do you want?"

"Cat."

Philza nodded with a hum, "That's a good one." Techno grunted in agreement.

Wilbur plucked the strings smoothly. The song reminded Tommy of bad times, of before, but the song still instantly calmed Tommy. There was nothing to fear now. He was surrounded by his people. He was a part of a sum, a piece to a puzzle. There was no world where Tommy could exist without them, and vice versa. His dreams were less of an unreachable reality, but more of a downtime in his busy wonder life.

The handle of the knife phased through Tommy's fingers; his time in the dream world was up for now. He placed the knife down and sat over by Wilbur to get a better listen.

"Leaving so soon," Wilbur asked as he played, his face showing a hint of concern.

"Apparently so, yeah. Today is another busy day, eh?"

"Nothing _The Great Tommyinnit_ can't handle," Wilbur placed his guitar back into his inventory, tucking Tommy into a hug. Philza joined them soon enough, clutching tightly to Tommy's back, where small feathers were starting to grow. Tommy reached back so he could hug both men fully.

"There's real cake in the waking world," Techno assured, walking over to join the group, "I mean that is if Apollo over here hasn't eaten all of it." Wilbur shouted at the comment and Philza sighed a pleasant sigh, ready to meditate again. 

Tommy would have laughed at the jab but suddenly, his eyes were closed, and he was no longer in their embrace. He knew he was awake from the sudden soreness of his wings. Nothing much had changed though. Someone was hugging him, probably Philza, and he could feel someone's arm poking irritatingly into his side. He was still warm, and he was still surrounded by the people he loved.

Waking up had never felt so good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You: oh jeez it ended
> 
> You: _*sees that this fic is part of a series*_
> 
> Yes I have more planned for this story! I will be making three sequel books for each other member of SBI. They will be 5k-10k words so they will take me time. Please be patient with me. As I casually work on those, I will be focusing on other works, like gift fics and other general ideas. 
> 
> IN THE MEAN TIME. The lovely rain let me borrow one of her serves, and you can talk to me there! I will give updates and talk about my ideas there. Heres the link: https://discord.gg/XdTABr2pbT


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